10 new cases of Omicron variant detected in Delhi, says Satyendar Jain; India’s tally goes up to 97

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KEY STORY

  • As many as 10 fresh cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in the national capital, health minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday. These infections have pushed the countrywide tally of the new mutant strain to 97.
  • “10 new cases of Omicron Variant reported in Delhi, taking the total number of cases of the variant here to 20. A total of 10 people, out of these 20, have been discharged,” said Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain today.
  • Earlier on Thursday, India reported 14 fresh Omicron cases, taking the tally of patients contracting the highly infections coronavirus variant in the country to 87. While Karnataka reported five new cases, Delhi and Telangana saw four each and Gujarat one.
    Omicron scare in India
    There have been growing concerns over the possibility of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic amid the surge in Omicron cases in the country. Maharashtra has so far reported the highest number of Omicron cases at 32, followed by Rajasthan at 17.
    The cases have also been reported in the states of Karnataka (8), Gujarat (5), Kerala (5), Telangana (2), Tamil Nadu(1), West Bengal (1) and Andhra Pradesh (1) and Union Territories of Delhi (10) and Chandigarh (1).
    The country’s first two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Karnataka on December 2.
    COVID situation in India
    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has stated that as many as 7,447 new COVID-19 cases and 391 deaths have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours.
    As per the health ministry, the active caseload in the country stands at 86,415, while the death toll has surged to 391.
    With 7,886 recoveries during the same period, the tally of total recoveries from the virus since the beginning of the pandemic stands at 3,41,62,765.
    Ajay Bhalla reviews COVID situation
    Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the country and the preparedness of the health infrastructure of all Union territories.
    A new study has raised alarms as it suggested that the new mutant variant of COVID-19 is 70 per cent more infectious than the Delta strain.
    The new variant was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 25. As per the WHO, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9 this year.
  • On November 26, the WHO named the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, which has been detected in South Africa, as ‘Omicron’. The WHO has classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’.

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